Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine
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Front Cardiovasc Med · Jan 2020
ReviewImmunomodulatory Approaches in Diabetes-Induced Cardiorenal Syndromes.
Immunomodulatory approaches are defined as all interventions that modulate and curb the immune response of the host rather than targeting the disease itself with the aim of disease prevention or treatment. A better understanding of the immune system continues to offer innovative drug targets and methods for immunomodulatory interventions. Cardiorenal syndrome is a clinical condition that defines disorders of the heart and kidneys, both of which communicate with one another through multiple pathways in an interdependent relationship. ⋯ We will be emphasizing on the hemodynamic factors and non-hemodynamic factors linking the heart and the kidneys. In addition, we will be elaborating on the immunomodulatory pathways involved in diabetes-induced cardiorenal syndrome namely, RAS, JAK/STAT, and oxidative stress. Moreover, we will be addressing possible therapeutic approaches that target the former pathways in an attempt to modulate the immune system.
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Front Cardiovasc Med · Jan 2020
ReviewFrom Compressed-Sensing to Artificial Intelligence-Based Cardiac MRI Reconstruction.
Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging is an important tool for the non-invasive assessment of cardiovascular disease. However, CMR suffers from long acquisition times due to the need of obtaining images with high temporal and spatial resolution, different contrasts, and/or whole-heart coverage. In addition, both cardiac and respiratory-induced motion of the heart during the acquisition need to be accounted for, further increasing the scan time. ⋯ The underlying assumptions of established techniques such as compressed sensing and low-rank reconstruction are briefly summarized, while a greater focus is given to recent advances in dictionary learning and deep learning based CMR reconstruction. In particular, approaches that exploit neural networks as implicit or explicit priors are discussed for 2D dynamic cardiac imaging and 3D whole-heart CMR imaging. Current limitations, challenges, and potential future directions of these techniques are also discussed.
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Front Cardiovasc Med · Jan 2020
Pre-existing Health Conditions and Epicardial Adipose Tissue Volume: Potential Risk Factors for Myocardial Injury in COVID-19 Patients.
Background: Myocardial injury is a life-threatening complication of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Pre-existing health conditions and early morphological alterations may precipitate cardiac injury and dysfunction after contracting the virus. The current study aimed at assessing potential risk factors for COVID-19 cardiac complications in patients with pre-existing conditions and imaging predictors. ⋯ Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that EATV over 137.1 cm2 was a strong independent predictor for myocardial injury in patients with COVID-19 [OR 3.058, (95%CI, 1.032-9.063); P = 0.044]. Conclusions: Augmented EATV on admission chest CT scan, together with the pre-existing health conditions (hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia) and inflammatory cytokine production, is associated with increased myocardial injury and mortality in COVID-19 patients. Assessment of pre-existing conditions and chest CT scan EATV on admission may provide a threshold point potentially useful for predicting cardiovascular complications of COVID-19.
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Front Cardiovasc Med · Jan 2020
Influence of Timing and Predicted Risk on Mortality in Impella-Treated Infarct-Related Cardiogenic Shock Patients.
Background: In-hospital mortality in acute myocardial infarction-related cardiogenic shock (AMI-CS) remains high. The only adequately powered randomized trial showed no benefit of routine use of the intra-aortic balloon pump in AMI-CS. We compared individually predicted mortality using CardShock- and IABP-Shock II-scores in AMI-CS patients treated with an Impella microaxial pump, who met the IABP-Shock II-trials inclusion/exclusion criteria, to observed mortality on circulatory support in order to determine whether standardized use of an Impella microaxial flow-pump in AMI-CS is associated with lower than predicted mortality rates and whether timing of implantation or selecting patients based on predicted risk is meaningful. ⋯ Haemodynamic support with an intraortic balloon pump does not reduce mortality. In this retrospective registry including 166 consecutive IABP-Shock II-eligible cardiogenic shock patients in four dedicated shock centers, observed mortality on circulatory support with an Impella was significantly lower than predicted in patients with highest mortality risk. Implantation prior to PCI in acute myocardial infarction-related cardiogenic shock seemed to be associated with lower mortality than implantation post PCI.
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The emergence of the COVID-19 virus and the subsequent pandemic have driven a great deal of research activity. The effects of COVID-19 are caused by the severe respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and it is the underlying actions of SARs-CoV-2 virions on the endothelial glycocalyx that we consider here. One of the key factors in COVID-19 infection is its almost unique age-related profile, with a doubling in mortality every 10 years after the age of 50. ⋯ Glycocalyx damage is associated with changes plasma protein concentration, particularly HSA and blockage of albumin transport can produce the systemic symptoms seen in SARS-CoV-2 infection and sepsis. We therefore conclude that albumin binding to SARS-CoV-2 virions may inhibit the formation of the endothelial glycocalyx by inhibition of albumin transport binding sites. We postulate that albumin therapy to replace bound albumin might alleviate some of the symptoms leading to sepsis and that clinical trials to test this postulation should be initiated as a matter of urgency.